Planet of the Cats
by Rassilon001
Summary: Blown off course and lost amidst the stars, test pilot Kio Kakazu crash lands on a terrifying world. A world whose feline rulers intend to make him their plaything. A world of hidden danger and unexpected beauty. He has come to the Planet of the Cats.
1. Dawn of the Planet of the Cats

**Disclaimer:  
><span>**I do not own Planet of the Apes or Cat Planet Cuties (aka Asobi ni Iku yo!), or any of the characters contained herein. They all belong to 20th Century Fox, Media Factory and Funimation.

**Summary:  
><span>**Blown off course and lost amidst the stars, test pilot Kio Kakazu crash lands on a terrifying world. A world whose feline rulers intend to make him their plaything. A world of hidden danger and unexpected beauty. He has come to the Planet of the Cats. Rated PG-13 for Action Adventure and Romantic Comedy, plus more than a little Sexual Innuendo.

* * *

><p>"<strong>T-minus twenty minutes and counting...<strong>"

Kio nodded, only half paying attention to the words. He tried instead to focus on his breathing. In and out, in and out. It didn't help, his heartbeat was still racing, and his hands felt clammy. He wished he could take off his gloves and wipe them against his pants, but alas, there was no time for that now.

Plus, they were currently sealed to his suit's sleeves. The whole outfit was designed to be vacuum sealed as soon as he closed his faceplate. It was the very latest design come up by the program's engineers, so lightweight it almost felt like he was wearing nothing at all, yet it was fitted with all the latest features, including a heart rate monitor, personal temperature control, and even its own limited oxygen supply.

And of course, thankfully came in his size and a most flattering shade of gray.

For Kio Kakazu was a boy still just on the threshold of adulthood, no more than seventeen or so. Although an average height for his age, he still stood just a little shorter than most adults. However, he was blessed with a remarkably fit body still being grown into. He wasn't quite muscular or broad-shouldered, but there was a definite lining of muscles along his limbs from good exercise, and not even an ounce of fat. His features, but contrast, were remarkably soft and gentle, almost feminine, touched by a kindness evident in his wide eyes and his easy smile. His brownish hair was cut short to keep out of his face.

_Hardly the face of some great astronaut_, he thought to himself ruefully.

"**Kakazu? Are you there?**"

The voice came out of nowhere, startling him out of his reverie. Idly, Kio flipped the switch by his arm and nodded. "Reading you loud and clear control. Is something up?"

"**Just making sure you're ready for this.**"

_Well gee_, he thought, _I'm dressed up in an ungodly amount of plastic and spandex, strapped to a chair on an experimental space shuttle about to be launched into deep space. What could possibly go wrong?_

"I've got some butterflies in my stomach," he admitted over the comm. "I think I'll be fine though."

"**Hang in there,**" the technician said. "**We're completing final checks, we should launch in... less than ten minutes.**"

"Roger," Kio replied. He flicked the intercomm of on his end, leaning his head back against the headrest of his seat, and took another deep breath. It did nothing to settle his nerves, which were rapidly becoming badly frayed. More than anything else, he just wanted to get this over with.

It barely even occurred to him that he was going to be a part of history in the making. No manned shuttle launched by Earth had ever travelled this far. This was an event on par with Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, and yet here he was wondering how long it would be until the mission was done and he could go home and fade into quiet obscurity. He still wasn't even one hundred percent certain why he, amongst countless other better qualified – and older, more experienced - applicants, had been chosen. He wasn't even a proper astronaut until they trained him. He had a little military experience dealing with the transport of nuclear weapons, but that didn't qualify him to work in outer space.

And yet, the program was quite insistent. His connections, experience, age, and unique physical make-up was exactly what they were looking for in regards to this project. And they had made quite the rather generous offer in order to get him to sign on the dotted line. He'd reluctantly agreed, but now all he wanted to do was go home and play with his pet cat Dara.

_Oh well, no time to worry about that now_, he mused. They were going over the final checks.

"Go for launch," he reported succinctly, giving a thumbs up and snapping his faceplate down. And then immediately grabbing the armrests of his seat and holding on for dear life.

"**Seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ignition...!**"

The whole shuttle began to vibrate violently, and Kio tightened his grip on the armrests until his knuckles went white. The experimental shuttle slowly but steadily began to break free of gravity's embrace and climbed skywards, trailing fire and smoke in its wake.

"**And we have lift-off!**"

* * *

><p>As Kio climbed higher into the sky, the g-force felt impossibly strong, mitigated only a little as it was by his suit and the cabin of the shuttle. However, once he cleared the atmosphere, it abruptly ceased, vanishing altogether. The light faded from his viewscreen, leaving only a star-filled horizon of inky black. Outer space. The final frontier.<p>

Kio breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing in his seat, and began checking the systems of the shuttle to ensure everything was functioning properly.

"Control, do you read me?"

"**Loud and clear, Kakazu.**"

"Well preliminary reports are all coming in green," he said eyeing the consoles and flicking switches. "Getting something a bit odd on long-range though, confirm?"

"**Confirmed, it's nothing. Just some stray meteorites. They shouldn't pass anywhere near you.**"

"Roger, control. Over and o-"

The shuttle shook violent, and alarms blared to life. Bright red replaced the tranquil green of many screens, as warnings flashed over every surface.

"What the hell was that?" Kio asked, squirming in his seat, trying to see. "Control, what the hell is going on? My sensors are out, I'm flying blind up here!"

"**The meteor swarm is off-course. You're right in their flight path. Alter your bearing, zero-six-seven...!**"

Whatever else he'd wanted to say was cut off as a fresh rocking hit Kio's shuttle, sending him tumbling out of control. Although he was in a zero-gravity environment, his eyes couldn't stay focused on the horizon outside the view screen with it spinning wildly in all directions. Fighting back a wave of nausea, he tried to look down at his controls and focus on what to do in an emergency situation. In this situation, there was really only one option.

Ejection.

"**Abort! Abort! KAKAZU!**"

His fist came smashing down on the glass covering, and he yanked on the emergency launch. The escape pod jettisoned seconds before the main shuttle erupted into a ball of flame. Meteorites slammed right through it with such speed and ferocity they ripped the entire vessel to pieces. When they hit the fuel tanks in the engines, the whole thing erupted. The blast sent the escape pod spinning out of control, and Kio winced as the gravity pummeled him in his seat. Alarms and red lights flashed all around him, but he couldn't see properly what they were trying to tell him. Voices continued to scream in his ears but they faded to a dull cacophony of sound, impossible to make out.

Which may have been for the best, as they were warning the coolant system had been ruptured. A spray of liquid nitrogen washed over the cockpit, coating Kio in his seat as he continued to spiral out of control. Within seconds he was coated in a layer of fine ice, perfectly preserved. His suit tried to compensate, but the internal heating was badly shaken up, and could only compensate by putting him in suspended animation. Various drugs were injected into his system, slowing his heart rate and preserving his higher consciousness, letting him drift off into a dreamless sleep. His last thoughts were of his home.

A home he would never see again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>For a small eternity the helpless craft drifted through the darkness of space, floating helplessly at the mercy of the void. A year, a decade, a century. Time simply passed in the blink of an eye for the lone occupant of the pod. The computer, equally damaged by the accident that had thrown it off-course, could not calculate how long it would be until its fortune would change.<em>**

**_As it would happen, it may have been doomed to float through space for the remainder of eternity, had Fate not intervened._**

**_A passing comet's wake caught the small pod in its gravitational pull, drawing it off-course and towards a nearby blue and green planet. This proved sufficient for the gravity of the astronomical object to draw the spacecraft down towards it. Flames flickered along the hull as it sped through the atmosphere towards an island in the eastern region of the globe, before finally splashing down on a beach at the very edge between land and sea._**

**_Thankfully, the crash landing left no damage that hadn't already occurred. The pod's designers and engineers had done their job well. Its occupant continued to sleep peacefully within as the gentle rocking of the waves lapped against its hull. However, while undamaged by its crash, the pod had begun its boot up sequence prematurely, and the air began to thaw around the pilot. Suspended animation came to an end, as the monitors lit up, beeping a steady rhythm as the pilot's heart rate steadily rose back to normal._**

**_After so long asleep, Kio finally opened his eyes, awake once more..._**

* * *

><p>Roused by the crashing of the waves against the beach, Kio blinked and sat up slowly, accidently bumping his head on the low ceiling of the pod. For a moment, the pain blinded him, and he wanted nothing more than to simply curl up and fall back asleep. As it was, it passed quickly, and he forced his eyes to open, gazing out at the bright light beyond the view screen.<p>

He'd landed.

It sort of looked like Earth, but the sun overhead was huge, and tinted a warm reddish color. Fortunately, the same could not be said of the air. One of the working consoles reported it was about seventy-five percent nitrogen, nineteen percent oxygen, less than a fraction of a percent carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Breathable, to human life in any case. It even looked a little cleaner than it would have been back home. Without further waiting he reached up and tugged off his helmet, disconnecting it from the rest of his suit and tossing it aside, sucking in a lungful of air greedily.

Gravity was almost Earth-norm as well, maybe about point one in difference. Either way, he barely noticed as he climbed out of pod and surveyed the region. He did notice the heat though. It wasn't quite sweltering, but it was distinctly uncomfortable. Thankfully his suit would help to keep his body temperature regulated.

He'd landed on some sort of coastal region. Behind his ship was the crash of the waves, while in front of him was a barren wasteland, devoid of life. It looked craggier and hillier further inland.

_Oh man_, Kio thought. _This wasn't part of the mission. I gotta radio for help_.

He flipped some switches and adjusted the frequency.

"Control? Do you read me? This is test pilot Kio Kakazu, reporting in. Please respond."

He barely got static, and not very good static at that. Angrily he smacked the console. It sputtered weakly once then died down completely. Even the clocks were broken, it was impossible to tell what date it was. Or even what time, though given the location of the sun he'd guessed late afternoon or so. Either way, he was completely on his own.

"Great," he muttered.

Fortunately the survival kit had survived intact. Prying it out of its compartment he went through his supplies to see what he had. Very little, unfortunately, but enough. Kio couldn't stay here, he needed to find sustenance. So he gathered up everything he could use, stuffed in into a knapsack, and trekked off in a randomly chosen direction. But no matter how far he walked, which way he went, he saw nothing but an empty wasteland of sand, rock, and dirt. No animals, no plants, no signs of civilization.

Finally, he collapsed, unable to go any further. Falling to his knees in the sand, Kio rolled onto his back and sighed up at the early evening sky, breathing out slowly. Every single part of him ached, and his vision felt blurry. A shape crouched over him, partially obscuring the bright light. A very curvy blob of darkness.

"Are you alright?"

A voice like birdsong helped clear some of the fog, bringing everything back into sharp focus. Including the figure crouched over Kio. A girl, not much older than he was, with the most breath-takingly beautiful body one could possibly hope for. She stood perhaps half a foot taller than Kio, with an abundance of curvy hips and full breasts, put enticingly on display by the skintight red and white suit she was wearing. The design bore some similarities to Kio's flight suit, but it looked much more streamlined, as well as far tighter. It left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Descending down from atop of her head was long, lovely waves of copper-highlighted reddish hair. She had a face like an angel, sweet and innocent, with the most unbelievably bright ruby eyes and a beautiful smile.

And... furry triangular cat ears atop of her head.

Kio blinked in confusion at that last one. Something wasn't quite adding up in his brain. He shook his head in an effort to clear the cobwebs away, but when he looked again, they were still there. And to add to his confusion, a long furry tail the same color as her hair had peeked out from behind her back as well. He also noticed, for the first time, a great big bell hanging from around her slender throat.

"What's your name?" she asked sweetly.

"Kio..." he managed to rasp out. "My name is Kio."

"You know you really should have said something if you were going to drop by," she said, clasping her hands in front of herself and dipping into a demure bow.

"Welcome to Catia, Kio."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed.

This was never intended to be a serious, epic story, just something silly put together to amuse myself more than anything else. Expect silliness and camp galore in the chapters to come.

Xenokurisu deserves all the credit for the truly stunning cover art, go check them out on Deviantart.


	2. Rise of the Planet of the Cats

Kio wasn't sure what happened. He was fairly certain he'd blacked out again, because when he came to, his situation had markedly changed.

Instead of lying outside, he opened his eyes to behold an unfamiliar ceiling above his head. Warm lights shone over him from some nearby windows, as he slowly sat up to take in his surroundings. It looked like a hospital of some sort, everything simple and austere, even spartan. Just the bed and a dresser nearby, plus a monitor beeping away silently by his bedside that seemed to be monitoring his vitals. Resting on the dresser were his glasses, which he picked up and unfolded, sliding onto his nose to take in everything with better detail. It was also much cooler in here, probably the result of some sort of air conditioning system. Across the room from his bed, however, the wall was dominated by a fish tank with all manner of gorgeous sea creatures. The sight relaxed him a little bit as he settled into a seating position by the headrest.

"Feeling better?"

He turned his head, a little startled someone had entered without him noticing. A tall woman with soft gray hair and a pair of wire-rim glasses approached, wearing a professional lab coat over a slinky dress. She carried a clipboard in hand, examining it as she approached, and idly checked its contents as she walked over to his bedside. She didn't look very old, the gray hair threw him off at first, but he estimated her age was probably closer to late thirties at the very latest. Other than that she looked like any sort of nurse Kio would expect to see in any hospital around the world.

Except for the fact that, like the girl from before, she had cat ears atop her head, and a long tail sneaking out from behind her. She also wore a bell around her neck. The sort you'd more commonly find around house pets than grown men and women.

Beside her was a more welcome face, as the redheaded girl who'd found him earlier bounced into the room, beaming brightly.

The doctor peered down at her chart. "How are you feeling... Kio, is it?"

"Uh, yes..." he replied, then went on to introduce himself formally. "Kio Kakazu. Lieutenant First Class. What happened?"

"Our little Eris picked you on the edge of the Forbidden Zone. What were you doing out there?"

"I don't... Forbidden Zone?" he asked. That was an ominous name.

The doctor nodded. "That's right."

"Why's it called the Forbidden Zone?" he asked.

"Because it's forbidden," she deadpanned.

_Right, ask a stupid question_, Kio thought. "I'm... I'm sorry I had no idea. My ship crashed near there, on the coastline. Where am I now?"

"Capital City of Catia," the nurse replied. "Oh and forgive me, I'm Doctor Durel. And this is Eris."

Kio held up his hand, gently shaking with both them. He blinked as the younger one's tail started to sway back and forth animatedly. He couldn't get over those strange features. Strange, but beautiful. And they both had them. The young girl he could've understand playing dress-up but a medical professional as well? Just where was he?

"May I ask, what's up with the ears? Is this... some sort of... cultural costume thing?"

Eris blinked at the question. "Oh it's not a costume! They're real!"

"Real?"

The good doctor nodded. "If you have any doubts just feel for yourself. Eris, do you mind?"

"I don't mind, go right ahead!" With an artful pivot on her heel she all but thrust out her rounded hip at him, her tail inches from his hand. "Feel!"

Hesitantly, Kio reached out, first stroking the smooth inside of the nearest triangular ear, then brushing his hand against the tail with the utmost tenderness. Sure enough, the fur felt smooth as velvet, and it had the warmth of a real limb. He could even feel the muscles underneath as it twitched back and forth. Hesitantly he gave it a stroke, like he used to do for his pet cat back home.

"Ehehehe, stop it, that tickles!"

He yanked his hand away as if it had just been in scalding hot water, and she skipped away, practically bouncing on her heels. The doctor smirked knowingly.

"Any more doubts?"

He shook his head, his face feeling hot. "Uh, no ma'am."

"Good. Now then, I'd just like to perform a physical examination if you feel up to it," she said, grasping the covers of the bed and starting to draw them down, alerting Kio to one very important fact.

Underneath, he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing.

He grasped the covers and held them tight to his chest, squirming in embarrassment. "Hey, whoa! Just a minute! Where'd my suit go?!"

"That primitive thing?" asked the doctor, puzzled by his reaction. "We're having it decontaminated now, why?"

"I... uh... I'd like it back if possible, it's all I've got," he said.

"Sure thing," she affirmed. Then, immediately tried to pull down his covers again. "After your examination."

"Wait!" he protested. "Isn't there someone else who can examine me?"

"Are you saying you'd rather have someone other than me perform your examination?" she asked. Her tone was bland enough, but there was just a hint of warning underneath it. She didn't seem like she was keen to take 'no' for an answer.

Reluctantly, he let his death grip on the covers loosen and turned to look the other way, his cheeks rosy. Doctor Durel pulled down the covers, but only down to his waist. Even so, he was blushing so hard his entire skin felt on fire as she poked and prodded at his chest and arms, running various medical scanners over his chest to examine his internal organs. The fact that Eris was standing nearby didn't help matters, or the way she was looking at him.

"Hmmm, nice and firm... oh yes that's a good heartbeat... still growing, I see... and what do we have... down here...?" she cooed, hands sliding lower.

Kio finally had to put a stop this and clutched his hands protectively in front of himself. "T-that part's fine, I promise! No need to examine!"

"Spoilsport," Durel muttered. "Well, I think that's all I need for a preliminary report. Eris, can I leave Kio in your capable paws?"

"Sure thing!" the young girl replied, waving jubilantly.

"Wait! What's going to happen to me?" Kio asked.

The doctor consulted her charts, adjusting her glasses a moment before peering through them. "Well, you're still going to need a day or two to recuperate, but you should be back on your feet in virtually no time. I'd just advise taking things easy for the time being. Eris has been making arrangements for where you'll be staying."

"What about my ship?"

"By law, no one is allowed to venture into the Forbidden Zone," Eris explained. "It is a very dangerous place. We're not sure we can get it back for you."

"It looks like you're stuck with us," Doctor Durel said gently.

Kio lowered his head, giving a great sigh. It hadn't quite sunk in just yet, but his whole world, his whole life, was all gone and behind him. He was going to have to make a new life for himself here on this strange world of Catia. At least the natives were friendly. Eris patted his shoulder and smiled, perhaps sensing his distress.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We'll do everything we can to make you comfortable here, Kio Kakazu. Now, perhaps you'd like a bath?" she asked, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips.

"Bath?"

* * *

><p>Thankfully, Eris let him be by himself during his bath, giving him a much needed chance to relax and gather his thoughts. Things were nice, he supposed, if a bit strange. But everyone here on Catia seemed genuinely nice in a way you couldn't expect outside of a cartoon for small children. Everyone was just so darn earnest and open about their feelings. It would take some getting used to.<p>

After his bath and a quick drying off, Eris knocked at his door, sliding his spacesuit underneath for him to wear. After he'd changed into his suit and ensured everything was where it should be, he rejoined Eris in the main room. She was holding something for him in her other hand.

"This is a translator collar," Eris explained. "It allows us to understand one another. Without it, all I'd be able to understand of your language is gibberish."

"That's amazing. A universal translator," he marveled. "But if you all wear one, why do I need to?"

"It streamlines things between them if we all make use of them," she explained. "To activate, simply touch and will the translation function on. It works on a telepathic interface."

Curious, he tapped the bell hanging from his neck, and it lit up with a brief rainbow glow before dissipating.

"**_IS IT WORKING_**?!" he asked, then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth at the sheer volume of it. Eris' ears flattened against her head as she winced.

Quickly, she showed him how to control the volume, and when next he asked the question it didn't risk rupturing eardrums and shattering glass. Catians had very sensitive ears, after all. Four of them, no less, which puzzled him to no end. It didn't seem evolutionarily beneficial to have such an auditory system, and yet the proof stood right in front of him that such a race could and did exist.

"There, that's better," she said. "The other functions I think I can show you later. Do you feel like taking a walk? I know Doctor Durel said to take it easy, but there's a park nearby that I thought you'd want to see. It has some of the best views of the sunset."

"Sure, I think a light walk would be fine," he said. "Could we get something to eat too?"

"Of course! There's a wonderful restaurant nearby!" Eris proclaimed. "It has ever so much yummy food you'll think you've died for a tenth time and gone to Heaven!"

Kio laughed at her enthusiasm, which was infectious, and followed her out of the building.

* * *

><p>Inside the Catian structures were big on soothing, smooth shapes and cool colors, but outside they were designed in gold and bronze with wonderful artwork motifs in warmer shades of red and yellow. Curiously, the design bore great similarities to Ancient Egypt on Earth, especially with the large number of cat images. Idly, Kio wondered if Catians had visited Earth in the distant past. It certainly would explain a lot of things, like the Pyramids.<p>

It was still rather warm outside, but fortunately his suit had a cooling feature built in, and helped to regulate his internal temperature. The sun was starting to set, shadows growing long and dark as they stepped out into the open air. As they walked down the street to the restaurant Eris had mentioned, Kio caught sight of some of the other Catians. They all wore a sort of skintight spandex that conformed to their figures, which came in a variety of shades. Some bore military insignia, while others did not.

And such strange hair colors. Oh sure, some of them had familiar browns, blacks and even blonde. But amongst those he also saw shimmering blues, neon greens, bright purples, and a rainbow of other colors. It seemed unreal, and yet they equally looked perfectly natural. No dyes to be found, no roots showing.

What very strange creatures these Catians were.

He also saw more than a few normal cats. Well, normal being a relative term, for it seemed domesticated lions and tigers shared the streets with the Catians (and only a few on leashes, he noted with some trepidation) while regular alley cats and house pets dotted the city as well.

Eris led Kio into a nearby cafe and put in a request for a meal, settling at a table with Kio. He politely pulled out the seat for her, eliciting a squeal of delight from the catgirl. Evidently chivalry, while known here, wasn't practiced often.

"I hope you don't mind, I ordered this delicious meal for you to try!" Eris said as a waitress came by with two plates of steaming vegetables, rice, and some sort of dark meat. Eris took a pair of chopsticks and proceeded to dig in, and Kio followed suit, testing the taste of his first bite. To his surprise, it was good. Really good, even.

"Delicious!" he exclaimed. "Mm! I could stay here for the food alone!"

"That's wonderful!"

Kio smiled, feeling relaxed as he continued to eat the meal. Everyone here was so kind.

However, the longer he watched, the more things started to seem strange to Kio.

For one thing, he spotted near the entrance to the restaurant two soldiers standing guard by the doors. They hadn't been there when he'd come in... which meant they'd been following him and Eris. And then there was the looks he got. Catians didn't look that different from humans, even with their ears and tails, yet he drew almost every eye as he passed by, and more than just a cursory glance. Everyone seemed to be watching him.

Something didn't feel quite right.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed. Thanks to everyone who already has, you're what feed my finicky muse.


	3. Beauty of the Planet of the Cats

Morning came with a gentle chiming of the nearby alarm clock, followed by a quick shower. By the time he was up and dressed, Kio found a visitor in the room preparing breakfast. It was Eris. He smiled as he watched her deftly arrange fruits and vegetables into an almost artful display on a pair of plates, carrying them to the table.

She smiled as she spotted him. "Good morning! How are you feeling, Kio?"

"Better, thank you." It was true, a good night's sleep had done much to replenish his energy.

"Chancellor Kuune put me in charge of you while you're recuperating. Think of me as your escort. I am utterly at your disposal," she said, bowing low.

He smiled at her earnestness. "I must be the luckiest guy on the planet, to have such a cute escort."

Eris giggled. "Don't say such things! You'll make me blush," she protested, even as her cheeks lit up with a rosy tint.

Breakfast was consumed without haste, but none the less quickly, and Eris offered to show Kio more around the city. Anxious for a chance to learn more about the curious Catian people, he accepted.

* * *

><p>Their first stop was a meeting with the grand Chancellor of Catia, the one Eris called Kuune. Ushered into her assembly hall, Kio half-expected an Egyptian goddess to be seated on the throne at the far end of the room, surrounded by opulence and slaves a plenty. He was slightly disappointed to find instead a tall, purple-haired woman in a skintight suit not unlike what most Catians wore, including the prerequisite bell at her throat. She smiled warmly as she welcomed him into the room.<p>

"You must be Kio," she said warmly. "It's very nice to meet you. I hope you're having a comfortable stay here in the capital?"

"Very much so, but there's so much to see. It's quite the city. And then there's so much more outside that I never got a chance to see. It could take a while."

She gave a knowing smile. "Perhaps I can help with that," Kuune said, tapping the bell at her throat. Instantly it lit up, and a light shone forth from it to create a three-dimensional holographic display. It showed the entire island. A blinking red circle materialized near the southeastern zone.

"This is the capital," Kuune said, pointing to the dot. "The area all in orange is our farmlands, where we grow crops and raise animals for food. Eris found you here, near the Forbidden Zone," she indicated another part of the map, near a reddish-hued sector marked with frowning cat faces.

"Yes I must have gone down around here," Kio remarked, indicating the beach indent which seemed most likely to him. "But why's the zone Forbidden, if I may ask?"

"It has been one of our most sacred laws for many years," the purple-haired politician replied. "One of the harshest laws, truthfully. It's said the Forbidden Zone is rife with dangerous activity and monsters. Plus it's entirely too close to the shore."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked.

"We Catians are not fond of cold water," Chancellor Kuune explained. "We do not swim well, and like to keep warm. Anything deeper than a shallow pool is beyond us."

Eris nodded sadly, ears drooping. "We'd drown."

"So you have no idea what's out past the ocean?" asked Kio curiously. "Other islands, continents? Maybe even other Catians?"

Kuune and Eris shared a look, but both shrugged, utterly uninterested. "If they are out there, they are just as welcome to come and drop by to see us," Kuune said. "We see no reason to explore the wide world. We have everything we need right here. Now more than ever, thanks to your arrival," she added, patting him gently on the back.

"Why's that?"

"I'll allow Eris to explain it to you... but later. For now, I believe she is showing you around the city?"

Eris nodded, all but bouncing on her heels again. Her tail twitched behind her. "Oh yes! I want to show him _every_thing!"

Kuune smiled to herself enigmatically as Eris grabbed Kio's hand in hers and the two of them all but bounded right out of the hall, though he did have the good grace to bow to her on the way out.

What a very interesting young man, she thought, grinning hungrily.

* * *

><p>Much as they wanted to continue seeing the many wonders of the capital, with Eris going on about the joys of the aquarium in particular, their first stop was a familiar one. Kio was feeling a little winded, so they returned to the medical facility and the care of Doctor Durel. Fortunately, she reported he was in no real danger.<p>

"Just a bit of dehydration," she explained after taking his readings. "It's not uncommon this time of year but it goes without saying you'll need to drink more water. At first I was worried something in our atmosphere was affecting you but that isn't the case. Thankfully your species only bears a few variations from our own."

"Really?" he asked, mildly surprised.

"You're actually very fortunate. There's only about a one in one hundred thousandth of a difference between Catian and Human DNA. Our species are astonishingly similar."

"Thank goodness I ended up on this planet then," Kio said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I could have wound up somewhere way worse."

"Does make you wonder a bit about the universe though," Eris said. "I mean, there must be billions of inhabited worlds up there, millions of different kinds of sentient life-forms... but could it be we're all kinda mostly similar?"

Durel managed to smile at the thought. "May just be. Well at any rate, we have to wait a week for your blood work to come back, as I have no professional medical reason to keep you cooped up here anymore, you're free to go," Doctor Durel said.

For a moment, Kio felt nothing but joy. While he had been in far worse hospitals, he was anxious to get out and see more of his new home. But almost just as quickly, his joy turned sour as another troubling thought occurred to him. Just where exactly was he supposed to go? Where _was _home for him?

Durel must have read his look, and indeed, even been anticipating his line of thought, because she smiled like a cat about to catch a particularly juicy canary. "However, given you're still learning your way around Catia, Counselor Kuune felt you should have a roommate up until you're fully accepted into our society. So we've made arrangements."

"A... roommate?" he asked, glancing over at Eris. The redhead catgirl looked ready to burst, bouncing up and down on her heels.

"You'll be staying with me. Won't this be fun?" she asked, arms upraised as if to cheer.

Kio, for his own part, felt his brain slam on the breaks before it crashed. "Wha-?! But-! I-! You! We... we can't possibly... can we...?! I mean I don't want to be a disturbance, really...!"

"Oh it'll be fun! Come on, I wanna show you my home! Or should I say our home!"

Kio spared a glance at the good doctor, but it was clear Durel wasn't going to rescue him from his fate. Reluctantly, he let Eris guide him out of the hospital and down onto the streets of Catia again.

Their hands touched, and she gently curled her fingers around his hand. He squeezed back, and she positively bounced by his side as their arms swung in unison. Kio felt amazing, almost prideful. Having such a beautiful catch as Eris would have made him the envy of any man who saw them together. He almost felt like he should show her off to any they passed in the streets on the way to her place. That's when it hit him like a ton of bricks.

There wasn't a single male among them. Not one boy, fellow or man in the entire city. At least, none that he'd seen. Everywhere he'd gone it had only been women, from cute little girls to elderly maids. It almost seemed like the entire Catian species was women.

Remembering well how he'd reacted to their ears, Kio resolved not to tackle the subject just yet, but broach it with Eris later in a more delicate manner.

* * *

><p>Reaching Eris home, he found it was remarkably simple. Outside was familiar bronze architecture, inside was cool white walls and carpet, almost like the sort he'd see in a college dormitory. Eris had a few plants around to make the room seem livelier, but overall it was remarkably subdued.<p>

"Make yourself at home!" Eris declared, slipping into the kitchen. "I'm going to make dinner!"

"Thanks for having me," he replied with a polite bow at the doorstep.

The red-headed catgirl went to busy herself in the kitchen. It was open aired, and led almost directly into the kitchen and the living room. All the rooms were on the same floor. Curious, Kio left to explore a little more, finding a study with books and stuffed dolls, a bathroom with a huge tub and shower sprinklers, and finally a bedroom with a big round bed, no head or foot in its circular design. Catians must have slept quite oddly. Kio smiled at the thought of Eris sleeping on such a thing.

Strangely, he couldn't find any other rooms. There was just the one bedroom... and the one bed.

_No way_, he thought. _There HAD to be another bedroom. Surely even the Catians couldn't be THAT open about such a thing_...

"Dinner!" Eris announced, her voice followed by a chiming sound.

Dinner was a simple affair tonight, some blue lettuce leaves, a side of meat that tasted suspiciously like chicken, and of course, plenty of water. As they talked, Eris probed Kio for countless questions about his past and his life, and he decided as the night wore on to return the favor and finally get some answers of his own. He decided to start with a delicate subject and ease his way into the real question burning at the tip of his tongue.

"So Eris... can you tell me more about Catia? Your history, your culture? I want to learn everything. I mean, I might be here for a very long time, after all."

She rubbed a finger against her chin in deep thought, her ears twitching. "Well, our history says Ichika was the name of our founder, over ten thousand years ago. She laid down the concepts by which modern Catians try to live, including peace, prosperity, and perfection. She envisioned a society where everyone could be happy with everyone else."

Kio smiled. "Seems like she succeeded. Ten thousand years of peace?"

"More or less," she replied with a grimace. "Not everyone's as perfect as she was. But now, generations later, we're still doing our best to live up to her example."

He sipped at his juice as he studied Eris, thinking her easily able to live up to such ideals. She was just so open-hearted and kind, it seemed she didn't have a single bad bone in her body. Her phrase of 'generations' also reminded him of something though.

"That's something else I meant to ask, actually. Eris, where are all the men?"

"Right here," she replied sweetly.

"What're you talking about? Where?"

She tilted her head to the side, her ears twitching. "Kio, you're the only boy on all of Catia," Eris said.

That definitely wasn't he answer he was expecting. It took him a minute to wrap his head around that.

"How... h-how is that... possible?" he asked, unable to quite wrap his brain about the concept. "I mean uh... I know... don't you need... ya know... two to have children?"

Eris nodded. "We did, long ago, but Catia's Science Division was always making strides to improve upon the problem when the males began to... uh... become less plentiful. Now we have gene splicers. It takes the DNA of two adult females and produces a completely new strand of genetic code. We insert this into an artificial womb and boom! New baby girl. After three months give or take."

"That's incredible!" he remarked.

"Mhm! Unfortunately the process isn't perfect yet. On very rare occasions, sometimes the uh... the DNA strands don't mesh well. The babies don't survive, and those that do... well... it's not pretty. And it even gets worse with each successive generation unless fresh genetics are added to the mix. So yes, we can reproduce and have more daughters for Catia... but not indefinitely. That's the way it is."

He lay a hand on her shoulder gently, squeezing to comfort her. She was such a bundle of contradictions. So vivacious and full of life, bursting with energy, and yet at the same so solemn and mature with wisdom that far belied her young age.

She purred at his touch, lifting up a hand. "Well... at least it _was_," she purred slyly, brushing a hand against his cheek affectionately.

"Wait... what're you saying?"

"Well, we have to wait for your blood results to come back, but that should only take about a week. I called dibs of course. I think Doctor Durel wanted to get nexties but Chancellor Kuune pulled rank on her... but she should still be in the top ten or so. And then... well... I'm sure the Science Committee will be able to determine an appropriate schedule for your... mating."

Kio gulped at the very predatory look she was giving him, and realization of just how terrible his plight was sunk in.

There really wasn't another bedroom after all.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed.

Obviously took some creative liberties with the Catians of the original manga and anime, but it's not _entirely_ to get Kio a whole planet of hot cat girls as his personal harem. There is a plot point to it that shall be revealed later on, I promise.


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